By Peter Thompson, QC, Law’65 (Arts’62)

For me, the atmosphere in that stadium was electric. There was a constant buzz – escalating to a deafening roar when things went well and to a loud groan when things were on the bleak side. 

The place was normally packed. Surrounded by a cement wall about 20 ft. in height, the stadium’s close confines contributed to its splendour. The spectators included a large proportion of the entire student population at Queen’s. There would usually be a few busloads of students from the campus of our opponents, which were then limited to McGill, U of T and Western. These students were rather subdued compared to the Queen’s crowd.

All the fans, young and old, were there for a good time. They cheered and sang. They shouted at the opposition and the officials. They came early and stayed until the end of the game. Afterwards they marched en masse from the stadium to downtown Kingston.

At half-time the pipe band and its entourage did their thing. The engineers often held a “chariot race” involving a selection of human-propelled vehicles that qualified as chariots of the type used by Ben-Hur. It was quite a show! You had to be there to fully appreciate it.

As Queen’s players in those days, we had the world’s greatest fans. We played our hearts out to give them something to cheer about. And we won a lot of games in that stadium and elsewhere against teams that, “on paper,” were supposedly better than we were. 

For me, the entire six-year experience as a player at Queen’s was a blast. Returning in the years following with three “Old Boys” teams that I organized was equally exhilarating. We loved Queen’s and the Queen’s fans loved us. 

The stadium was the centrepiece of the entire environment that contributed to the enduring camaraderie that I rank as my fondest Queen’s football memory. 

This is what I mean when I say that old stadium had a great “feel” about it. The new stadium has a similar feeling. All you need to do is fill it and the glory days will return. 

Peter Thompson played offensive end and tackle for the Queen’s Gaels from 1959 to 1964, and was named the team’s most valuable player in 1962. He went on to play professional football with the Ottawa Roughriders from 1965 to 1967. Peter is one of 14 Queen’s Law graduates who have been inducted into the Queen’s Football Hall of Fame. 

Read the story "Golden football legends reminisce at Richardson Stadium’s grand re-opening."